Greetingzzzzz!
Thank you all so much for the great reviews! The story has started off rather strangely, but my life is one big strange mess right now so WHAT-THE-FUCK-EVER right?
I hope you all stick around for the craziness, this story and my beloved AnimeCujo are all that's keeping me focused and sane these days so READ ENJOY REVIEW FAVORITE FOLLOW!
Love, hugs and awkwardly long squeezes with my hands trailing down your back...
BTW please read and review AnimeCujos awesome Fic "Revelations" as well as my previous Fic "Simply Meant to Be"
"People are strange,
when you're a stranger.
Faces are ugly,
when you're alone."
-The Doors
Driving back from the hospital afforded Sebastian some time to reflect upon the disturbing morning he and Ciel had just experienced. It was almost noon by the time they returned to the house and he was more bothered by the strange events than when they had first left the ER parking lot.
The run in with that bastard cop should have been an omen, he thought sourly, turning the wheel sharply up the gravel road.
Blue skies accented by a few puffy white clouds seemed oddly out of place surrounding the historic rented home especially after what the doctor had told him. Regret flickered in his heart, what if taking Ciel out of the city had been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back? What if the sudden move up to the middle of nowhere had stirred up a latent condition within the young student's fragile mental state? If it turned out that Ciel was indeed epileptic and stress was the culprit, Sebastian would never forgive himself. Thinking back on how Ciel had reacted upon entering the house caused him to shiver at the memory . . . it smells like rotted corpses! The phrase echoed in his mind.
"Back already?" Ciel mumbled and yawned, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips. He had fallen asleep during the ride from the hospital. "God, I feel like I haven't slept in days!" Doctor Landers had advised bed rest for a day or two since Ciel had suffered such a violent episode; his energy was sapped and it would take more than just a couple of hours to recuperate.
Ciel yelped in surprise when his passenger side door was opened and a pair of long arms scooped him bridal style from the car. "W-Why are you carrying me?" He squeaked, cheeks ablaze with embarrassment. "I-I can walk on my own!" Sebastian strode steadily up the cobblestone walkway carrying his petite lover with ease.
"Because you're still really unsteady on your feet." He replied, stopping momentarily to offer a warm smile to the squirming young man. "Besides, I need practice carrying my blushing bride into our new home." He teased and Ciel stopped struggling to stare at the grinning man.
Sebastian loved having those deep ocean blue eyes set directly on him; he felt as if they could see right through to the very core of his being. Only Ciel knew his true self and only Ciel could catch a glimpse of Sebastian in the raw and not run away from the reality of who he truly was. At that moment, Ciel saw his lover being honest and loving; opening up the very real possibility that no matter how difficult a situation was, their relationship would be a permanent deal.
"I love you so much." He breathed, wrapping his thin arms around Sebastian's neck and placing a tender kiss upon his lips.
"I love you too." He whispered against Ciel's rose petal mouth.
They continued to the door of the house; Sebastian could feel the frail form in his arms tense up. No doubt Ciel was fearful of another episode.
"You have an appointment with the staff neurologist next Monday." He informed, pushing the door open; in his haste earlier he had forgotten to lock it.
"Why?" Ciel pouted. "It's not like they found anything wrong with me." Sebastian chuckled at Ciel's expression, setting him down on his feet.
"It's to rule out epilepsy." He explained.
"Epilepsy?" Ciel bit his lip, nervously looking around the foyer.
Sebastian nodded, carefully slipping off the young man's pea coat and opening the hall closet. "I made the appointment early in the morning before work-"
Ciel shook his head and whispered. "I'm sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?" Sebastian looked back at Ciel in confusion. "Nothing's your fault here!"
"It's just . . ." Ciel chewed on his bottom lip and kept his eyes firmly planted to the floor; head slightly bowing in shame. "Nothing can be easy when it comes to me. First we had to move up here, now it's this epilepsy-"
"Stop right there." Sebastian interrupted firmly. "No one said you had epilepsy. It's just a precaution, ok? Don't automatically assume the worst." His arms encircled Ciel's waist, pulling him into a protective embrace.
Cocooned within the safety of the older man, Ciel let out a shaky sigh. "Yeah, but-"
"But nothing." Sebastian buried his face in the coolness of blue-gray hair, inhaling deeply the sweet smell. "And nothing's ever easy with you because you're not some humdrum average Joe who would bore me to tears with a simple life filled with simple ideas." He cupped Ciel's face in his hands, their eyes locking in a gaze filled with understanding. "Everything is an adventure with you, Ciel; good or bad I wouldn't have it any other way."
"There's plenty of stuff I'd change." Ciel retorted.
"But it all led us here, right here." Sebastian nuzzled the side of Ciel's neck, his lips tracing the swan-like expanse of milky white skin. He could feel goose bumps rising against his tongue as he licked and nipped the exposed collarbone. "Doesn't that feel good?" He purred seductively, enjoying the shivers emanating from the delicate body in his arms.
"Everything you do to me feels good," Ciel whispered, closing his eyes as the fear and tension melted away with the soft touches. "More." He demanded in a shuddering breath, pressing his hardening length against Sebastian's own prominent arousal.
The man shook his head. "Doctor said you need to rest." He murmured, feeling the heat pour from Ciel's body and slowly drive him mad with desire. "No strenuous activities for a couple of days," Sebastian mumbled as he placed another kiss to the small temple.
"Doctor should mind his own business." Ciel cut in, his hands busily unbuckling his boyfriend's belt.
"Baby, I don't want to hurt you." Dark red eyes flashed with concern as nimble fingers pushed their way into his pants and cupped his tightening sac. "Ah! Fuck!" Sebastian groaned at the delicious feeling of Ciel kneading and rubbing him skillfully.
"I'm hoping you do." He grinned, face full of mischief and want.
Shoving all reason and sensibility aside, Sebastian pushed his eager lover towards the foyer. "Not this time." He growled, unbuttoning Ciel's shirt with careful speed. "This time I'm going to be slow and gentle."
"Slow and gentle?" Ciel snorted, rolling his eyes. "Did I just meet you? It might start that way," Ciel felt his back make contact with the wall, "but we both know what eventually happens."
"Oh?" Ripping off the young man's shirt, Sebastian stepped back to admire the delicate curves and dainty frame of his lover. "Educate me then." He teased in a husky voice. "What usually happens, Mr. Phantomhive?"
Grabbing fistfuls of inky black hair, Ciel forcibly pulled Sebastian towards him devouring his mouth in a wet and animalistic kiss. They released their mouths only to gasp for air with reddened lips and glassy eyes. "You mess me up," Ciel panted lustfully. "You turn me inside out." He licked his lips with a sensual air, eyes narrowing and heady with hunger. "And I love every second of it."
"Oh! Please pardon the intrusion!"
Sebastian froze upon hearing the high pitched voice coming from within their home.
Intruder! His mind screamed, panic quickly setting in. Sebastian's first instinct was to protect Ciel; grabbing him by the arm, he shoved the shocked student behind him, effectively becoming his human shield against the trespasser.
"Really, babe?" Ciel whispered behind him."Even I could take her on."
What the hell? Sebastian thought, immediately calming after taking in the cowering five foot visitor with coke bottle thick glasses and a head of hair as red as the shamed blush blazing furiously on her face.
"Who-Wait, why are you in our home?" Sebastian demanded, relaxing his stance. Obviously the young woman in the maid's outfit was not a physical threat to them. Wait, he narrowed his eyes at her, Maid's outfit?
"I-I'm so sorry!" She cried, bursting into a tearful sob. Her hands shook as she lifted up the mop and bucket held by them. "There was s-such a t-t-terrible m-mess here and I was only t-trying to do my j-job!" Hiccupping loudly, she set the cleaning tools on the floor and wiped her nose with her sleeve.
"Please don't cry!" Ciel begged, emerging from behind his looming boyfriend while attempting to button up his shirt in an inconspicuous manner. He produced a small package of tissues from his pocket and handed them to the girl who was now weeping pitifully into her hands. "You just startled us, that's all." He spoke softly, running the tissue under her wet chin. "I'm Ciel and this is my boyfriend," stifling a snicker, he threw a smirk at the black haired man. "And apparently now my bodyguard, Sebastian. We're renting this place for a year."
"My name is Mey Rin." She sniffed shyly while adjusting her glasses. "Part of your lease calls for a housekeeper, that's why I'm here."
"A housekeeper!" Sebastian tilted his head. "I don't recall reading this on the lease Mr. Druit faxed us. Are your wages included in the rent?" He had never formally met the real estate agent who dealt with the paperwork and money tied to the property. had always sent his secretary, Nina Hopkins, to show Sebastian and Ciel the house. It seemed a bit odd at first, but Sebastian had chalked it up to conflicted and inundated schedules.
"Oh yes, sir!" She replied, nodding her head quickly. "Laundry too! The company that owns this property is very fastidious when it comes to the upkeep of the Butler House!"
"Well this sounds awesome to me!" Ciel smiled, shaking Mey Rin's hand. "I hate doing laundry!"
"This comes as a bit of a surprise." Sebastian admitted, scratching the side of his head. He was still doubtful of the deal presented before him. "Will you be rooming here as well?"
"Yes, sir!" She chirped, blowing her nose noisily and earning a giggle from Ciel. "There's a servants room downstairs in the basement next to the winter pantry and laundry area." Noticing the older male's hesitant demeanor, Mey Rin quickly picked up the mop and bucket. "I won't be in your way, I promise! I work from six in the morning to four in the afternoon, then I retire to my room and leave the rest of the house to your privacy!"
Sebastian crossed his arms and mulled over her words. His teaching assignment at the local college kept him out of the house for most of the day while Ciel attended his own courses and did private tutoring. Having a housekeeper would indeed lessen the stress of keeping up with the large house. Eyeing the timid creature before them, Sebastian felt no threat from her.
"Alright, I'm on board." Sebastian extended his hand to Mey Rin, "and obviously, so is Ciel." He chuckled, shaking her hand and motioning towards his beaming lover.
"I'm so happy!" She squealed nearly dropping the mop and bucket, "and I just finished sprucing up the place! For some reason there was an awful mess in the foyer this morning! I think an animal got into the house and made a mess right here!" Pointing to the spot where Ciel had retched puddles of blood tinged bile just a few hours ago.
Ciel glanced at Sebastian from the corner of his eye. "Hm, really?" The man hummed, nudging the student in the ribs with his elbow. "An animal, you say? Filthy creature." Ciel glared at him.
"At least it's all cleaned up, right?" He snarled, sneaking a pinch on Sebastian's arm.
"Yes sir! All cleaned up!" Mey Rin laughed, "But since I've already tidied up and freshened the bed sheets in every room I will be leaving early today to run some errands!"
After confirming the weekday schedule with the spritely young lady, the pair saw her off in her car, a beat up Jeep Wrangler with weather worn tires that looked as if they could barely hug the road let alone handle the snow and ice in a rural landscape.
"I wonder how much money she could possibly be making?" Sebastian sighed aloud, placing his arm around Ciel's shoulder as they walked into the quaint and dimly lit living room. "That car has seen better days."
"Yeah, but you know what?" Ciel looked up at his lover with a smirk. "I just got the best idea!"
Garnet eyes gleamed with interest. "Oh?"
Plump lips smiled sweetly as blue orbs gleamed brightly. "How about we dirty up those clean sheets right now?"
Angelina Durless detested pigeons.
Her older sister, Rachel, used to admire the hordes of bustling birds in the city parks when she had been alive, once commenting on their sweet and docile dispositions. Shrouded in gray and white feathers, like murmuring nuns scuttling along concrete sidewalks in search of crumbs for daily nourishment. The woman did not share in her older sister's romanticized version of the loathed sky rat.
Durless despised their incessant cooing, the filth crawling all over their matted feathers and the way they intruded in almost every aspect of a city dweller's life. They were everywhere and in her proper opinion, they should all be poisoned and swept away with the test of New York City's rotting garbage.
She sat in her large and ridiculously priced leather chair facing the floor to ceiling window in her publishing house office. As one of the top literary agents of Libre Publishers, she enjoyed one of the swankier corner offices in the 6th Avenue building. Known for her fire engine shoulder length red hair with an attitude and wardrobe to match, it wasn't unusual for the denizens of the publishing world to quake in fear upon the mere mention of her name. Yet to her chagrin there were only two people who seemed entirely unfazed by the strikingly beautiful woman also known as "Madame Red".
Lau, a hugely successful Libre editor and Ran Mao, his "secretary". She equated the pair to pigeons, scuttling nuisances with a tendency to murmur nonsense and annoy her to the very limit of her sanity.
"Dirty pigeons." She muttered, turning herself around in the chair in order to face the odd Chinese man with his scantily clad right hand girl seated comfortably on his lap.
It's the middle of winter and yet this bitch is wearing a black mini and tight see through white t shirt, she seethed quietly, these two should be poisoned and swept away as well. It pained her to know that her beloved sister was gone from her, sent to an early grave when they were in their late teens, but human debri like Lau and Ran Mao were still walking the earth.
Lau smiled pleasantly at her, as if he could read her thoughts and took a languid drag from the long thin brown cigarette held between his two fingers. He blew a thin wisp of bluish smoke into the air, the sickly sweet smell of cinnamon and cloves permeated the room, leaving Angelina grimacing in disgust. "Hey Red." He drawled, grazing Ran Mao's exposed thigh with his fingertips. "Where's my manuscript?"
Angelina scowled, roughly yanking open her desk drawer and threw a hateful look at the grinning man. "Where the hell are my cigarettes?!" She demanded furiously.
Lau chuckled, waving a lazy hand in the air. "I'll give you your cigarettes when I get my manuscript."
Angelina clicked her teeth in disgust. "As if I couldn't just get up, walk downstairs, cross the street to the store and pick up another pack, asshole!" Slamming the drawer shut, the contents on top of her desk shook.
"True, but at least I'm inconveniencing you and that," obsidian eyes gleamed brightly at her, "brings me uninhibited joy."
"I see, so now I'm the source of your joy?" Standing up slowly and walking around her desk, Angelina leaned against the side and crossed her arms. "May I assume that Ran Mao is not fulfilling your needs lately?"
Lau chuckled playfully. "Haha, dear lady, you are fulfilling one of my needs. On the other hand, Ran Mao is the root of all my perversions."
"I didn't need to hear that." She pushed herself from her desk with a huff and promptly sat back down in her chair.
"Careful, careful, Madam Red." Lau wagged a reprimanding finger at her; the serene gaze he once held for her suddenly shifting into a chilled fixed stare. "A door, whether wide open or a crack, is still open." He spoke coolly.
"What are you talking about?" Angelina snapped, darting her eyes away from him.
Lau chuckled lowly. "Who knows?" Shrugging nonchalantly, the coldness in his voice disappeared, turning airy and empty. "I say many meaningless things, however, I recall having a conversation with you about a certain brilliant professor with writing skills above and beyond your current clientele. Yet here I am, awaiting a manuscript that clearly does not exist."
She shot the man an annoyed look. "He needs more time-"
"You opened the door, Red." He cut in, sitting up and shifting the silent dark eyed girl on his lap, "Don't tell me there's nothing on the other side?"
It was bad enough that Lau was scrutinizing her every move and decision making for the last six months after a deal she had been working on for a movie rendition of one of their top clients had gone sour, but to be mocked? No, there had to be an end to this constant humiliation!
Slamming her fist on her desk, Angelina spoke through gritted teeth. "Dammit, Lau! I'll have that manuscript on your desk before the week is through! For once, back off and let me do my job!"
The strange pair exchanged amused glances. "Fine." He replied simply, taking another long drag on his cigarette.
She blinked owlishly. "Really?"
"Oh yes!" A puff of translucent smoke curled slowly from his lips. "You have one more month. The deadline was extended last night during our board meeting."
"You asshole!" She yelled. "You son of a bitch!"
Lau flicked his ashes carelessly on the carpeted floor. "Tut tut. "He cooed. "I love your fiery passion, but please refrain from sullying the air with such profanity in front of Ran Mao." Lau lovingly stroked his companion's silken black tresses. "She has such a sensitive soul."
"There's something very wrong with you." Angelina hissed, pointing to Ran Mao, "and that one, can she even speak?" Shaking her head furiously, she rose from her chair. "Get out!" She seethed. "Get you and that mute out of my office! I've had enough of your crap!"
Sighing deeply, the slight man patted his china doll on her rump, easing himself from the chair. "Indeed, our meeting has reached its limit." The odd duo made their way to the door. "Do make sure to give that fascinating writer of yours my regards." Lau turned his head to face Angelina, a shit eating grin plastered on his face. "I am anxiously awaiting his work."
"Bastard!" She screamed as the door slammed shut behind them.
"Has contact been made?"
"Yes, a violent one in fact."
"Hohoho, so he intends to begin collecting this early?"
"We are ready for him, we will not hold back."
"Watchful waiting, my dear. Patience in this matter will serve us well."
"How long before we begin?"
"One month."
"One month . . ."